SELF-DISCOVERY WEEK (10-14 April 2023)

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” Aristotle

Self-Discovery Week is observed each year at The Indian School-Second Shift to provide children with new insights for rapid personal growth and accelerated success through introspection.

This year, School observed Self-Discovery Week from 10 to 14 April, 2023. All students of Pre School to class 10 participated in several interesting interdisciplinary activities to identify their potential.

The tiny tots of Pre school and Pre primary were fascinated as they went about printing their hands on paper with colour and then observing them. They also got engaged in looking at themselves in the mirror and carefully noticing their expressions. The young artists drew themselves as they saw their mirror images. They held their crayons carefully as they attempted to copy the contours on the looking glass! The engrossed looks on the young faces were delightful to watch.

In another riveting activity, "My Name is Special" and "Name Crowns," the eager learners traced their names on paper and crafted a crown in a tear and paste activity. It was an opportunity for the children to know that their names are special.

Class 1 observed the special week by participating in a melange of activities. These included ‘Name Mosaic Craft’ in which the students tore colourful origami sheets into small pieces and pasted these on the outlines of their first names. This was followed by the ‘Am I Independent?’, activity based on practical life exercises  wherein the students undertook ‘Spooning the Beans’ and ‘Wet Pouring.’ The week concluded with the ‘My Future Self’ activity wherein the students dressed as doctors, soldiers, teachers, scientists and policemen. They were beaming with joy as they spoke about the profession they might choose in the future.

It was an exciting and engaging week for class 2 where the students had an opportunity to explore their identities, interests and values through various activities. They made self-portraits which allowed them to reflect on their physical appearance and appreciate what makes them unique. The students also participated in the activity, ‘Talk about   Your Family' wherein they spoke about their family members, their relationships and their roles within the family. In addition, the students created photo frames, which helped them express their creativity and showcase their own personalities.

Class 3 was not to be left behind. They engaged in the ‘Leaf-O-Graphics’ activity where the students constructed images relating to the environment and spoke a few lines about them. It helped them enhance their artistic and creative skills. ‘If I were a Superhero', was another fun-filled activity where the students curated and narrated a story of their favourite superheroes. They made portraits along with the characteristics of the superheroes, which further led to their linguistic or verbal intelligence and artistic skills. They participated in a  ‘Capacity Building Activity’ by conducting- a ‘Figure me Out’ activity . This included introducing the family to the peers.

The students of class 4 wrote down their own good qualities that make them good human beings. In Hindi, they composed self-portraits and wrote the values they wish to always have. They also made travelogues based upon heritage sites visited by them.

The students of class 5, as a part of an EVS activity made hand tracings on a colourful sheet. This represented their ideas of how they contribute towards the environment in different aspects, which helps students develop a sense of social responsibility In mathematics, the students drew a timeline depicting the major events in their lives. They also pasted photographs to illustrate the special times. In Hindi, they engaged in an activity named ‘Mann ke Bhaav’ wherein they wrote about various incidents and people with whom they connect emotionally. In English, they wrote the poem, Cinquin. This activity helped them get to know themselves better and paved the way to create original content exhibiting ideas, memories and varied ways of expressing themselves.

The students of class 6 presented an overview of social science in a pictorial way according to their personal perspectives. It reinforced critical thinking skills. Students tried their hand at Haiku, a Japanese short-form poetry. They wrote about self-praise and love. In mathematics they presented their own height data in a bar graph. They wrote short stories in Hindi about understanding themselves and learning about areas of self-improvement.  In science, a self-introspection session helped them get to know more about the scientific bend of bend they possess.

Class 7  wrote the motivational ‘Letter to the Self’ about their learnings from the past and plans for the future. They presented thede beautifully as a scroll using recyclable materials. Exploring themselves in depth, students penned down their strengths and weaknesses in Hindi. To add to the learning, they represented their favourite activities on an 'emotion protractor' on a scale of zero to 180 degrees. These protractors were made using recyclable materials as well. To add to the fun, they expressed their views on undergoing a Crisp Gene Editing Technique during their science class!

Class 8 enjoyed a variety of activities. In English, they wrote self-introspective stories beginning with, ‘During the break, post examinations, I realised…’. In Hindi, they tried to discover themselves in a world with a rapidly increasing rate of pollution. They enjoyed making 3D shapes using paper mache. They prepared a portfolio for each shape made by them. Concluding the week-long activities, students placed and discovered themselves through a timeline in relation to the Mughal era.

The students of class 9 collected data on changes that occurred in the colonial era and their influence on their lives today. In Hindi, they wrote about some real-life experiences that have helped them become better human beings.

The students of class 10 self-discovered themselves through the world map. Their existence on the continent, in the country, state, and in the home town was shown using recyclable paper, to protect the environment. They also created beautiful doodle art. The children also described one special incident wherein they discovered a hidden talent.

Thus, the week-long voyage of self-discovery concluded with the young voyagers pleasantly surprised to discover a new aspect of their multi-faceted personalities! Man’s quest for self-discovery is eternal and so we wish our young travellers many such moments in the future towards greater self-realisation and self-actualisation.